T'Pol

Notes

T'Pol was a reluctant member of the crew of Enterprise. Although Starfleet, and especially Captain Archer, wanted to crew the ship exclusively with Humans, they were forced to add a Vulcan officer in order to obtain the Vulcan star charts which allowed them to complete their first mission. T'Pol was highly dubious as to whether Humanity is capable of achieving their aim of exploring the galaxy, but she nevertheless committed herself to assisting Enterprise to the best of her abilities.1

Although stoic by Human standards, T'Pol is actually more emotional than most Vulcans. When she encountered a group of Vulcans who believed that logic and emotion must be balanced, she experimented with her own emotions briefly. Ultimately she decided to remain committed to the normal Vulcan way of life.2

T'Pol was ordered back to Vulcan in 2153 when Enterprise was sent to the Delphic Expanse. She instead resigned from the High Command to stay with the ship.3 Whilst aboard the ship T'Pol began treating Trip for insomnia with Vulcan neuropressure.4 The two became attracted to one another and slept together in December 2153, though T'Pol would claim the next day that she was only investigating Human sexuality.5

When Enterprise discovered a Vulcan vessel adrift an asteroid field rich in Trellium-D, a substance which can protect vessels from the anomalies common in the Expanse, T'Pol was part of the party which boarded the ship. She found the crew had succumbed to violence and paranoia as a result of their exposure to the Trellium-D, and began to experience the effects herself.6 After this experience T'Pol began to crave the emotions provoked by the substance, and began injecting small amounts on a regular basis. Although she desisted in 2154, the effects of the drug are likely to be permanent.7

Whilst Archer led the team which eventually boarded and destroyed the Xindi weapon which threatened to destroy Earth, T'Pol remained with Enterprise in the Expanse. She used the ship to instigate a chain reaction which destroyed the sphere network which was maintining the anomalies in the Expanse, destroying them and ending the Sphere Builder's attempts to invade the Milky Way galaxy.8

After the mission was completed T'Pol returned to Vulcan to visit her mother, accompanied by Trip. She discovered that her more controversial actions had created considerable difficulties for her mother T'Les, leading to her losing her position with the science ministry. T'Pol agreed to fulfil her marriage to Koss if he would extend his protection to her mother in return, which he duly did.9 T'Les herself gradually became interested in the Syrrannite cause, eventually joining their group in the Vulcan desert known as The Forge. She left T'Pol a message designed to lead her to the Forge; unfortunately, the Vulcan High Command launched a major effort to exterminate the Syrrannites shortly afterwards, and T'Les was killed.10

Whilst she was with the Syrrannites, T'Pau was able to use a mind meld to cure T'ol's Pa'nar syndrome. In the aftermath of the Vulcan civil war, Koss and T'Pol divorced.11

T'Pol and Trip struggled with their emotional attachment both during and after her brief wedding to Koss. Eventually Trip reached a point where he felt that he could not continue to work alongside T'Pol, and he left the ship to transfer to the Columbia.12 He returned to the Enterprise when the ship was sabotaged by Klingon agents.13 He remained on board for several weeks to assist in repairs, and T'Pol once again found herself struggling with her attraction for him. She asked Trip to stay on board, prompting him to reveal that he had already asked for a transfer back.14

In 2155 T'Pol was among the Enterprise officers who attended the inter-species conference on Earth. She was surprised to be approached by Susan Khouri, who delivered a sample of hair which genetic analysis revealed to be the offspring of T'Pol and Trip. She travelled to a Lunar mining colony with Trip to investigate Terra Prime, a terrorist group led by John Frederick Paxton which Khouri had been a member of. Both officers were quickly captured.15 Paxton introduced T'Pol to her daughter, whom she named Elizabeth after Trip's sister. Paxton had created Elizabeth by genetically engineering samples of Trip and T'Pol's DNA. It was his hope that Humanity would be disgusted by the idea of a Human/Vulcan hybrid, boosting support for Terra Prime. Unfortunately the genetic engineering techniques used were flawed, and Elizabeth did not survive. Her death served to bring the mixed-species crew of the NX-01 crew together, the exact opposite of the reaction which Paxton had hoped for.16

T'Pol did not pursue a romantic relationship with Trip after Elizabeth's death, though both remained aboard the NX-01 for the next six years. She was greatly saddened when an attack on the Enterprise by a group of criminals led to Trip sacrificing himself to neutralise a boarding party. T'Pol continued on to Earth with the NX-01, where she attended the signing ceremony of the United Federation of Planets constitution.17